AIDAN WALSH REMEMBERS dark days when his sister, Michaela, put towels over his head after training sessions to hide his breakdowns.
An Olympic bronze medallist and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner, Walsh retired for 14 months between the Tokyo and Paris Games.
He came back to compete in last year’s Olympics, memorably winning five bouts out of six over eight days in Bangkok to secure qualification.
This time, however, he is bowing out for good and intends to put the “emotional distress” he felt at times as an elite boxer to good use by helping other athletes avoid the pitfalls.
Walsh does feel blessed to have had the support of his family and to have made lasting influential relationships through the sport, and he is clear on what’s to come.
He is researching athlete welfare – with a focus on the coach-athlete relationship in Irish amateur boxing – for his master’s degree. Paul Gaffney, a clinical psychologist with Sport Ireland, was a massive influence on the importance of an athlete feeling safe and having a sense of belonging.
Walsh jumps for joy after winning his Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo. Frank Franklin II / AP Photo / Alamy Stock Photo
Frank Franklin II / AP Photo / Alamy Stock Photo / AP Photo / Alamy Stock Photo
The pair are writing a book on the subject and it’s a path that Walsh wants to take now. “I’m in a position to maybe help others to walk the path and make sure no-one else is alone going through it,” he said. “There’s nothing more daunting or more terrifying than knowing that you have to walk a path alone.
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“It’s my goal to help athletes make sure that there’s someone within that environment to support them, walk along with them; not tell them how to get a better performance or how to win medals or how to achieve success, but that they actually feel psychologically safe.
I know how scary it is. It’s been tough, it’s been fast in a sense and, yeah, I’m just happy that it’s over now and on to the next stage of my life. There were so many highs, though.
The Belfast welterweight wishes that it was Michaela who had the Olympic medal instead because, he insists, she deserves it more.
Still part of Ireland’s elite boxing unit, the 32-year-old has been a tower of strength for him on his darkest days. “She didn’t even want me coming back for Paris,” he confided. “She didn’t want me to go to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, either.
“Even before going to Bangkok and Milan for the qualifiers for Paris, she was saying to me, ‘you’re sure this is what you want to do?’ She always wanted me to step away due to the struggles. She had to pick me up the floor a number of times before competitions.”
Walsh with his Olympic bronze medal. Damien Storan / PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Damien Storan / PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo / PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
He recalls Michaela lifted him off the floor at a training camp in Ulster University, when he insisted he was retiring, and he rang her every day when he was in Bangkok at the Olympic qualifiers, telling her he couldn’t get through his five fights.
“She’s had to walk me out of training, out of the gyms with towels over my head to make sure nobody saw me breaking down,” he recalled. “She’s been through a lot with me and I’m just glad that I’ve put it to bed for her as well.
“But to go to two Olympic Games, two Commonwealth Games, with my sister, it’s just an absolute privilege. It’s something that I hope to tell my kids and grandkids.
Every tournament, I really struggled but with the help of good people, I managed to get through. They’re battles that no-one has seen and will stay with me for a long time.
“Professor Niall Moyna from DCU said you have two-thirds of your life to live after your career and that just sticks with me.
“I have so many injuries from sport, both physical and psychological, that I have to live with for the next two thirds of my life. You don’t see that when you’re in sport because you’re so driven by medals, performance and outcomes.”
A latecomer to amateur boxing’s elite level in 2019, Walsh won his Olympic quarter-final in Tokyo but injured his ankles as he celebrated in the ring and had to settle for the bronze medal.
He retired during the next Olympic cycle, only to return five months before Paris. He booked his ticket to a second Games, but he was struggling.
“I neglected education, neglected friendships,” he said. “I neglected a lot of things due to getting those medals. I’ll be open and honest, I didn’t enjoy it. Pressure can do funny things and I was just under so much pressure.”
Walsh steps away from boxing after a long and successful amateur career. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
After Paris, Walsh joined his Holy Faith clubmates in the US and felt the throwback thrill of the sport again. He was boxing for the fun of it again but it was to be his last time in the ring.
“It’s been public knowledge that I’ve struggled over the last while,” he said. “When I was younger, I never really wanted to be emotionally invested within boxing.
“You’re influenced by the surroundings and the environment around you so boxing, everybody did it and I just jumped into it. I happened to be OK at it. My sister happened to be very, very good at it, and my father was a coach as well.
“There were a lot of great times but when you start winning medals and you start to realise that, one, there’s more to life and, two, there’s a lot of stress and pressure and anxiety and burnout, is it worth it?”
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Olympic medallist Aidan Walsh retires: 'They're battles that no-one has seen'
AIDAN WALSH REMEMBERS dark days when his sister, Michaela, put towels over his head after training sessions to hide his breakdowns.
An Olympic bronze medallist and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner, Walsh retired for 14 months between the Tokyo and Paris Games.
He came back to compete in last year’s Olympics, memorably winning five bouts out of six over eight days in Bangkok to secure qualification.
This time, however, he is bowing out for good and intends to put the “emotional distress” he felt at times as an elite boxer to good use by helping other athletes avoid the pitfalls.
Walsh does feel blessed to have had the support of his family and to have made lasting influential relationships through the sport, and he is clear on what’s to come.
He is researching athlete welfare – with a focus on the coach-athlete relationship in Irish amateur boxing – for his master’s degree. Paul Gaffney, a clinical psychologist with Sport Ireland, was a massive influence on the importance of an athlete feeling safe and having a sense of belonging.
The pair are writing a book on the subject and it’s a path that Walsh wants to take now. “I’m in a position to maybe help others to walk the path and make sure no-one else is alone going through it,” he said. “There’s nothing more daunting or more terrifying than knowing that you have to walk a path alone.
“It’s my goal to help athletes make sure that there’s someone within that environment to support them, walk along with them; not tell them how to get a better performance or how to win medals or how to achieve success, but that they actually feel psychologically safe.
The Belfast welterweight wishes that it was Michaela who had the Olympic medal instead because, he insists, she deserves it more.
Still part of Ireland’s elite boxing unit, the 32-year-old has been a tower of strength for him on his darkest days. “She didn’t even want me coming back for Paris,” he confided. “She didn’t want me to go to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, either.
“Even before going to Bangkok and Milan for the qualifiers for Paris, she was saying to me, ‘you’re sure this is what you want to do?’ She always wanted me to step away due to the struggles. She had to pick me up the floor a number of times before competitions.”
He recalls Michaela lifted him off the floor at a training camp in Ulster University, when he insisted he was retiring, and he rang her every day when he was in Bangkok at the Olympic qualifiers, telling her he couldn’t get through his five fights.
“She’s had to walk me out of training, out of the gyms with towels over my head to make sure nobody saw me breaking down,” he recalled. “She’s been through a lot with me and I’m just glad that I’ve put it to bed for her as well.
“But to go to two Olympic Games, two Commonwealth Games, with my sister, it’s just an absolute privilege. It’s something that I hope to tell my kids and grandkids.
“Professor Niall Moyna from DCU said you have two-thirds of your life to live after your career and that just sticks with me.
“I have so many injuries from sport, both physical and psychological, that I have to live with for the next two thirds of my life. You don’t see that when you’re in sport because you’re so driven by medals, performance and outcomes.”
A latecomer to amateur boxing’s elite level in 2019, Walsh won his Olympic quarter-final in Tokyo but injured his ankles as he celebrated in the ring and had to settle for the bronze medal.
He retired during the next Olympic cycle, only to return five months before Paris. He booked his ticket to a second Games, but he was struggling.
“I neglected education, neglected friendships,” he said. “I neglected a lot of things due to getting those medals. I’ll be open and honest, I didn’t enjoy it. Pressure can do funny things and I was just under so much pressure.”
After Paris, Walsh joined his Holy Faith clubmates in the US and felt the throwback thrill of the sport again. He was boxing for the fun of it again but it was to be his last time in the ring.
“It’s been public knowledge that I’ve struggled over the last while,” he said. “When I was younger, I never really wanted to be emotionally invested within boxing.
“You’re influenced by the surroundings and the environment around you so boxing, everybody did it and I just jumped into it. I happened to be OK at it. My sister happened to be very, very good at it, and my father was a coach as well.
“There were a lot of great times but when you start winning medals and you start to realise that, one, there’s more to life and, two, there’s a lot of stress and pressure and anxiety and burnout, is it worth it?”
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